Novel Liquid Crystalline Organic−Inorganic Hybrid for Highly Sensitive Photoinscriptions

A new class of organic−inorganic liquid crystalline hybrid materials consisting of an azobenzene derivative and titanium oxide (6Az5COO-TiO and 6Az1COO-TiO) was synthesized. 6Az5COO-TiO with a C5 spacer showed a smectic liquid crystalline phase. The organic 6Az5COO and TiO inorganic components in the hybrid film were oriented perpendicular and parallel to the substrate plane, respectively, to form a layered structure. The structure of the liquid crystalline hybrid material was formed via nanophase separation of the organic and inorganic components. This film was then subjected to the inscription of surface relief structure formation by patterned UV irradiation. The efficiency of the phototriggered mass transfer showed a clear temperature dependency. The optimal temperature range was around 130 °C, which corresponds to the lower edge of the endothermic peak in the differential scanning calorimetric profile. The mass transfer was initiated at a surprisingly small energy dose of irradiation [40 mJ cm −2 (8 mW cm −2 for 5 s)] in this hybrid material, as has been observed for fully organic soft liquid crystalline polymer systems. It is anticipated that this new type of hybrid material have potential for microfabrication of optical and photocatalytic elements.